Charlotte Hornets small forward Nicolas Batum has been cleared for contact and participated in most of Tuesday's practice per Rod Boone of The Athletic.
Batum suffered a broken middle finger in his left hand on opening night against the Chicago Bulls.
Nic Batum (fractured finger) has been cleared for contact and participated in most of today's practice. "That doesn't tell us when he's going to be ready to go 100 percent," James Borrego said, "but he was out there. So it's good to see him. How far away, we don't know yet."
— Rod Boone (@rodboone) November 12, 2019
Batum played just 11 minutes off the bench against the Bulls before exiting. He wasn’t able to attempt a shot, but did have four rebounds in Charlotte's win over Chicago.
The Hornets are 4-6 on the season.
Article Continues BelowLast season for the Hornets, Batum played in 75 games. He averaged 9.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest while shooting 45.0 percent from the field, 38.9 percent from beyond the arc and 86.5 percent from the free-throw line.
Batum will make $25,565,217 this season and has a player option worth $27,130,435 for next season, one which he will surely pick up since he won’t make that type of money on the open market. Batum signed a five-year, $120 million deal with the Hornets in the summer of 2016.
The 25th overall pick in the 2008 draft, Batum has career averages of 11.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists in 768 games with the Portland Trail Blazers and Hornets.
The Hornets are currently on a three-game losing streak. They will look to get back in the win column on Wednesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.